Falling for the Billionaire Doc Read online

  Henry glanced at her and her heart skipped a beat. “You did look really pretty tonight.”

  “Thank you.” Heat flooded her cheeks.

  Kiera’s pulse was thundering in her ears as they sat there next to each other in the car. She shivered.

  “Here.” His arm slipped around her, pulling her close. She knew she should push him away, but his arm felt nice and she stopped shivering.

  And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt something like this.

  It felt good.

  What was she doing?

  She looked over at him. Her body was humming with anticipation. Her mouth was dry, and her breathing was fast as their gazes locked.

  And before she could stop herself, she became swept up in something.

  Something she didn’t quite know how to control and something that she couldn’t stop. And she wasn’t completely sure that she wanted to stop it.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for picking up a copy of Kiera and Henry’s story, Falling for the Billionaire Doc.

  This book came about because I wanted to virtually travel somewhere and Colorado was on my bucket list.

  Kiera is trying desperately to save the hospital she works at. She’s tired of the rich getting richer and the poor struggling, and she knows about struggling. The only thing standing in her way is a governor, but instead of the governor coming to talk to her, he sends his son.

  Henry is tired of his father’s politics, but his father helped him out and Henry owes him. He will put an end to the protests during his father’s election year and be released from the debt he owes.

  As soon as Kiera and Henry meet, sparks fly...and there’s no stopping love once it decides to hit, even if both parties are unwilling to open their hearts again.

  I hope you enjoy Kiera and Henry’s story.

  I love hearing from readers, so please drop by my website, www.amyruttan.com, or give me a shout on Twitter, @ruttanamy.

  With warmest wishes,

  Amy Ruttan

  Falling for the Billionaire Doc

  Amy Ruttan

  Born and raised just outside Toronto, Ontario, Amy Ruttan fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child, Amy was lucky enough to realize her lifelong dream of becoming a romance author. When she’s not furiously typing away at her computer, she’s mom to three wonderful children, who use her as a personal taxi and chef.

  Books by Amy Ruttan

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  First Response

  Pregnant with the Paramedic’s Baby

  Cinderellas to Royal Brides

  Royal Doc’s Secret Heir

  NY Doc Under the Northern Lights

  Carrying the Surgeon’s Baby

  The Surgeon’s Convenient Husband

  Baby Bombshell for the Doctor Prince

  Reunited with Her Hot-Shot Surgeon

  A Reunion, a Wedding, a Family

  Twin Surprise for the Baby Doctor

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  For Christine and Sif, for the inspiration and the name!

  Praise for Amy Ruttan

  “Baby Bombshell for the Doctor Prince is an emotional swoon-worthy romance.... Author Amy Ruttan beautifully brought these two characters together, making them move towards their happy ever after. Highly recommended for all readers of romance.”

  —Goodreads

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM THE PRINCESS AND THE PEDIATRICIAN BY ANNIE O’NEIL

  CHAPTER ONE

  FREAKING COLD.

  Dr. Henry Blake scowled up at the first few flakes of snow swirling around in the air. He hated the cold. He hated the fresh air, the woods and the windchill, and he scowled up at the cloud-covered sky, hoping he could melt every single last stupid snowflake that was falling down.

  Why am I here again?

  And then he distinctly remembered why he was back in Colorado in the bitter cold of February. He remembered why he had been dragged away from his warm, beautiful beachfront home in Los Angeles—to deal with a problem at his father’s request.

  He had been born in Aspen, Colorado. It was where his father was the governor and sat on the boards of many hospitals in the state. Even though it was Henry’s birthplace, his family didn’t spend much time here. His parents were elite and wealthy, and only came to Aspen when the powder was fresh so they could rub elbows with the rich and famous.

  His parents preferred Denver, DC or New York City. Basically, wherever their powerful friends were, his parents weren’t far behind.

  Whereas he had always been left alone.

  Alone in a large house in Denver.

  Alone at boarding school for the holidays.

  Alone and scared.

  Henry didn’t have many fond memories of Colorado.

  Or the winter. He hated how coming back unpacked feelings he kept carefully locked away.

  He had returned only because he sat on the board of Aspen Grace Memorial Hospital, one of the hospitals his father had invested a lot of money in.

  And then there was the debt Henry owed to his father. One he was sure he could never really repay. One that left him beholden to the man who was biologically his father, but emotionally meant nothing to him.

  Henry hated owing anyone anything, and he did care about the hospitals he was involved in.

  Even if it necessitated being in Colorado and subjected to the winter he loathed so much.

  His father had big plans for the future of Aspen Grace Memorial. But, apparently, there was a problem in going forward with tearing down the old and building the new.

  And that problem was one Dr. Brown. Henry knew nothing about her although he had read a couple of articles she’d written in medical journals.

  She was smart, a good surgeon, but very, very vocal about her displeasure with his father and the board of directors.

  She was the reason he was back in Colorado. She’d been ignoring his calls and emails. Now he had to come and meet her face-to-face. Which annoyed him all the more.

  More than the cold weather.

  Henry jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat, trying to hunker down under his scarf as the wind shifted and blew a blast of snow straight into his face.

  “You know, you should’ve dressed a bit better, Dr. Baker. This isn’t LA.”

  Henry glared at his father’s driver, who had pulled up to meet him at his parents’ private hangar. While he was glad of the private plane and the ride, he couldn’t help but be irritated by the reason for it.

  You owe me, his father had snarled.

  I owe you nothing, Henry had said. Send someone else to deal with Dr. Brown.

  His father had glared at him. Remember all those gambling debts? Remember how you walked away from medicine and almost ruined your career in Los Angeles, how we supported you after Michelle died and how we covered up all your indiscretions.

  A chill had run down his spine. Yes.

  You owe me this. I saved your career. Sent you to the finest schools. You can deal with this problem. I
can’t do this with the election coming up.

  Fine, but after I do this we’re done. No more holding anything over my head.

  Very well.

  What would you have me do?

  His father had shrugged. Seduce her for all I care. Just shut it down.

  Henry had no plans to seduce Dr. Brown. Woo her maybe, charm her, but that was it.

  And he hoped this one last favor would put an ending to owing his father.

  To have it brought up every time he saw him.

  Then Henry could be free.

  Can you ever really be free?

  “I won’t be in the area long, and I have no plans for frolicking outside,” Henry grumbled. “I have work waiting for me in Los Angeles. I only came to deal with Dr. Brown and get the demolition back on schedule.”

  His father’s driver, Mike, laughed, and Henry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he ignored as he climbed into the back of his parents’ luxury sedan, thankful for the heated seats.

  Henry wasn’t going to stay long. A week tops.

  All he had to do was deal with Dr. Brown, listen to her issues and get everything back on track to build Aspen Grace Memorial into a cutting edge private medical facility. Then he could return to his beach house.

  What’s waiting for you there?

  He shook the thought away. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

  AGMH was run-down.

  It was overcrowded and didn’t serve the community. Tourists didn’t feel safe using the hospital. They didn’t like it.

  The hospital board wasn’t planning on doing away with the hospital completely. The board was going to build something better in its place.

  Something that would bring in lots of money.

  Only Dr. Brown didn’t see it that way and she was protesting. Handing out flyers, stopping construction. Attending meetings at city hall to try to put a stop to it. It was slowing down the progress.

  Henry really didn’t care one way or another.

  His father did, though.

  So that’s why he was here.

  He owed his parents this. They had saved his life and reputation after Michelle died; however, after Henry dealt with this, he was done.

  He’d sell his shares in the hospitals and cut ties with his parents.

  He had spent far too many years trying to please them, hoping they’d love him, when it was clear they never would.

  The only person who had ever loved him was Michelle and she was gone.

  Henry sighed.

  It was inevitable that his mother would soon come to see him, and no doubt she’d start harassing him about settling down and the family image. His parents hated his lifestyle of dating women in Los Angeles for short stints. It looked bad for their good family name.

  The wholesome image his father promoted didn’t seem exactly truthful when there was an unsettled son dating all the wrong kind of women.

  If only the general public knew his real father.

  His father was not a good family man.

  His father was a charlatan.

  Of course, the one time he had been serious with someone she hadn’t come from the right family. She hadn’t been good enough.

  She’d been good enough for him, though, and he smiled as he thought about her.

  She’d been gone for eight years, but the hole in his heart remained.

  Michelle had been the first person to get through the walls he’d built as a child to protect his heart. The first person to truly love him, and he had adored her.

  He had imagined a life, marriage, children with her, and in one tragic instance it had all been snatched away. He would never go through that pain again.

  And he was tired of his parents throwing what they thought of as respectable women at him. All he wanted was to be left alone.

  Was that too much to ask?

  So now he was in Aspen to deal with Dr. Kiera Brown so that his father didn’t have to, and with any luck this would be the end of it. The end of his father holding his indiscretions over his head.

  Constantly reminding him how much he owed him.

  How Henry wasn’t good enough.

  This was the last thing he would do for his father.

  Henry knew, in his father’s eyes, he’d never be that perfect son.

  The one time he had come close to being that was Michelle. Only Michelle had thought he was worthy of love. Even that had gone spectacularly wrong when she had died following an accident. The only good thing in his life had been taken away eight years ago.

  It still stung.

  It still hurt after all this time.

  Michelle had been his world. The only woman he had ever trusted. The only woman who hadn’t wanted anything from him in return for his love.

  She had loved Henry for himself. When Henry had been with her, he had forgotten all those sad, lonely years as a child.

  She had given him hope.

  Michelle had been his everything. Michelle and medicine. They had never failed him.

  Medicine had made him happy at one time. Just like it had made Michelle happy, too, but in a way, in the end, medicine had failed Michelle.

  And now Henry was jaded with life, with work.

  He’d lost passion for everything.

  He just wanted to be back in California and be left alone.

  That’s all he wanted.

  He scowled the closer they got to town. The traffic was backed up and the mountains surrounding the town were covered with skiers.

  It was the height of the tourist season.

  This wasn’t the time of year he liked being in Aspen. He had a condo here he rarely visited. He’d come back maybe three times since he bought it, and that was in the summer. He often thought he should sell it, but he was glad he had it now. Hotels would be booked solid, they would be crowded and noisy, and there was no way he was staying at his parents’ place.

  He had enough bad memories of that house.

  Is there any time of year you like to be in Colorado?

  Michelle had loved Colorado. Though he hadn’t understood why, if it had made her happy he would have stayed.

  He’d met Michelle in Denver.

  Why do you want to settle down in Colorado? he’d asked her. Los Angeles is more exciting!

  You’re from Colorado, she’d teased.

  Exactly. He had smiled and kissed her. Take it from me. There’s nothing great about living in the mountains.

  I love the mountains. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’m used to life elevated. Her blue eyes had sparkled. Don’t you think this would be a great place to raise a family?

  One day, he’d grumbled.

  Exactly. She had wrapped her arms around him. We’ll both have thriving practices. We could stay here. I know you hate living in the shadow of your parents, but I love Colorado. We can live in Denver and take our kids skiing in Aspen, we’ll stay at your parents’ ski lodge and in the summer we can go back to Salt Lake City to see my family or even drive up to Yellowstone.

  He’d groaned. I forgot you’re an outdoorsy person.

  And you love me for it.

  Michelle had been right. He had loved her for it. And it hurt his heart, even eight years later, when he thought of her. When he let those thoughts creep through into his mind. Of the life they could’ve had together. Maybe he would’ve liked Colorado more, Aspen more, if he had been with her.

  If they’d had the family they planned on.

  That had all been taken away from him.

  Snatched cruelly.

  He’d been back, but rarely.

  And it was because he had let those thoughts creep into his head that he was so angry that he had been forced to come here and deal with this. At least he was almost free of his parents.

>   Mike turned down a street.

  “Where are we going?” Henry asked.

  “To the construction site,” Mike responded.

  “I was supposed to head to the hospital. That’s where I was going to have my meeting with the heads of the departments and Dr. Brown.”

  “Dr. Brown is not at the hospital. I called ahead, Dr. Baker. She’s at the construction site and she’s protesting.”

  “She’s protesting?”

  Mike nodded. “I figured you wanted to speak with her first. In fact, I have instructions from your father to put an end to any kind of demonstration at the construction site. He doesn’t want the police involved.”

  “Of course not,” Henry grumbled to himself under his breath.

  His father wouldn’t want there to be a scene. His father abhorred the press unless it was good publicity.

  A doctor campaigning at a new hospital site was not good publicity.

  Of course, neither were his countless dates with Los Angeles glitterati. Even though none of those dates were ever serious. The women wanted something from him and he from them. His father hated the tabloid shots of Henry. And just thinking of that, he smiled briefly to himself.

  Mike pulled in close to the work site, boarded up for the winter but ready for construction in the spring. Henry was expecting to see more people with Dr. Brown because he knew there were others who didn’t want AGMH to shut down. He was bracing himself for the worst and was taken aback when he didn’t see a horde of protestors.

  It was just one lone woman, bundled up against the cold, holding a sign that had a picture of his father’s face with devil horns and dollar signs painted on it.

  In glitter.

  Portraying his father’s greed.

  She wasn’t wrong. His father didn’t value much; nor did his mother, which was something he had learned as a child being raised by servants and sent away to boarding school.

  Henry tried to wipe the smile off his face, but it was hard not to laugh. It was kind of absurd—and admirable. He looked up and saw in the rearview mirror that Mike’s eyes were twinkling with mirth, too.

  “So this is Dr. Brown?” Henry asked.